There is a continuing need to provide better decoration for containers, and in particular for bottles. This is commonly achieved through the use of labels that are attached to one or more of the exterior surfaces of the container. It is necessary to attach the labels to the exterior surface of the containers when the containers are opaque or nearly opaque. However, when the container is transparent, or essentially transparent, the label and other decoration can be placed within the container. This is more so the case when the liquid in the container is transparent or essentially transparent. In such cases labels and other decoration can be attached to an interior surface of a bottle or may even float in the liquid in the bottle. In addition, there may be a cooperation between a label on one surface of a bottle and a label on another surface of a bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,647,175 discloses a container that has a decorative object that is attached to the bottom wall of a bottle. This decorative object is fully contained within the bottle. U.S. Pat. No. 716,759 discloses a container with a label on two interior walls. Each label can be seen through the wall to which it is attached. U.S. Pat. No. 635,098, U.S. Pat. No. 2,305,890 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,939 disclose labels that are attached to two of the exterior surfaces of bottles, but which have a cooperative relationship. That is, the labels contain information or decorative features which interrelate when viewed.
Another type of label or decorative feature is one that is suspended within the container. That is, it is not attached to the wall of a container. Such labels are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 713,606 and U.S. Pat. No. 956,937. A related label is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,356,399 where the label has essentially the shape of the interior of the bottle. A medical label that is within a container but not attached to a surface of the container is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,077. A related decoration is disclosed in Japan 404201853A with the additional disclosure that the decoration can be three dimensional.
The structure of labels or decorative items within containers was addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,842,987 where it is disclosed that the decorative part of a label or decoration is covered with a vehicle which is not soluble in the material contained in the container or in the alternative, the label or other decoration is interposed between two films. This patent addresses the stability of the design on the label or decoration and discloses ways to protect the design from deterioration by the substances within the container.
In the present containers there is used a film, and preferably a laminate film, to provide a decoration within a bottle. The decoration preferably interrelates with a decoration on one of the major side surfaces of the bottle. The bottle preferably is a plastic bottle and the laminate is likewise a plastic which can be the same plastic. On a further preferred embodiment the laminate, except for the decoration, should have essentially the same refractive index as the contained liquid. In this way the laminate, other than the decoration, disappears in the contained liquid. In a further preferred embodiment, the plastic that comprises the container should likewise be the plastic of the laminate. Additionally, the laminate can be stabilized within the container by a particular structure of the container.